The present invention relates to micromachined transducers, such as relays and switches and more specifically to providing the necessary high voltage levels needed for operation of the transducer.
It is known in the prior art to use micromachined relays. Micromachined relays require large voltages for closure of the gate of the relay which are usually on the order of 40-60 Volts. When micromachined relays are used with other types of circuitry, two separate voltage supplies are necessary. One supply is for the logic level circuitry, usually at no more than five volts and typically 3.3V and one supply is for the relay (40-60V). Thus, such circuitry requires the redundancy and expense of the two voltage supplies. Additionally, in the past, micromachined relays have been placed on separate silicon from logic level circuitry to avoid the high voltage requirements of the relay from damaging the low voltage circuitry, if any of the voltage signal leaks through the silicon.